Syracuse, N.Y. -- Don McPherson's moment in the Carrier Dome was a moment for his teammates instead.

That's just how the former Syracuse quarterback wanted it.

McPherson's No. 9 was hung from the Carrier Dome rafters during a quick, five-minute ceremony during halftime of the Orange's ACC debut against Clemson.

The ceremony included a brief highlight video and an even briefer speech by McPherson, who has credited his teammates in the days leading up the ceremony. He was joined on the field by about a dozen former teammates and former head coach Dick MacPherson.

"How many Syracuse University players does it take to get a jersey that high?" McPherson asked after his jersey was revealed atop section 330. "All of them. These are the guys, this is the reason."

Chancellor Nancy Cantor and athletic director Daryl Gross were also on the field for the ceremony. Gross gave McPherson a framed No. 9 jersey that he briefly held above his head. As McPherson and his teammates posed for pictures, he put his arm around his former head coach, who patted him on the chest.

"It's going to take some time for the emotion to set in because it's just really overwhelming," McPherson said Friday. "People around here know me and know that I've always said I'm just one of 22 guys on the field that went out and played. To have one guy's jersey put up on the rafters when I know the other 10 guys in the huddle made it possible, it feels a little inappropriate and almost a little inadequate, but we're going to have fun. A few of the guys will show up and we'll do it together."

Don McPherson and his former teammates at halftime. Dick Blume | dblume@syracuse.com

McPherson was an athletic, dual-threat quarterback before they were all the rage, a skill set that helped him finish second for the Heisman Trophy in 1987.

He completed 140 of 250 passes that season, throwing for 2,481 yards and 23 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. The effort catapulted him into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Roland Grimes remembers becoming a fan instantly during McPherson's recruiting visit. They played a pick-up basketball game and he was dunked on by the high schooler.
More than his athleticism, though, his old teammates reflected on his leadership, individuality and intelligence, the intangibles by which great quarterbacks truly distinguish themselves.

"He was fast, he was elusive and very accurate," former defensive end Tim Green said. "But the biggest thing was he could process information so fast. That's what all the great ones do. They see patterns where everyone else sees chaos."

Green remembered trying to coax McPherson to switch positions early in the 1985 season, an effort to get the quarterback on the field in some capacity and help the team. McPherson, he recalled, knew what he wanted for himself and wouldn't bend to peer pressure.

McPherson downplayed that moment and said that he knew his own abilities -- and that he'd never been able to catch.

His freshman year roommate, Derek Ward, recalled a teammate with an affinity for jazz clubs instead of parties, someone who locked his roommates out of his room until they broke into his cooler, drank his bottle of Sprint and replaced the contents with water.

McPherson recalled being something of an oddity, not quite fitting in with his teammates or the macho mold of a football player, a kid just figuring out how to be himself.

It's a mindset that's served him well, turning him into a social activist who has fought most vehemently against domestic violence. It's that arena, McPherson believes, that he's accomplished the most and made the biggest difference.

"I don't think you can find anyone who has anything but positive things to say about him," Green said. "He was always that way. You kind of look at him and ask, 'How did you get that way?'"

But on this day, MacPherson was honored for what he's done for the football program, guiding the Orange to a Sugar Bowl and convincing the team to follow Dick MacPherson's push to go alcohol-free during the 1987 season.

"He was as tough as they come," Grimes said. "At that time in history, to be a black quarterback, you had to be. There was so much public pressure. He was one of the smartest guys you'll ever meet. He'd beat you before the game started."

It was the sacrifice, focus and unity of that team, McPherson said, that brought him to the Carrier Dome on Saturday.